Strange but true: A music aficionado has opened an Eight Track Museum in Texas, displaying hundreds of his clunky treasures.

James "Bucks" Burnett, owner of a record store called Cloud 8, sees beauty in this obsolete tape format. He’s been buying, trading and collecting eight tracks for more than 20 years.

On Feb. 14, visitors got their first look at the inaugural exhibit of his museum in Dallas. It’s called "Conceived in Cars/Birth of the Eight Track 1965," and includes all of the Beatles albums released as eight-track tapes.

According to Burnett, eight tracks have evolved from flea-market discards to sought-after items that can sell for $100 or more. Tapes by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Sex Pistols are among those coveted by collectors, he says, along with eight tracks by the Fab Four.

The eight-track craze was a relatively brief one, following vinyl LPs and preceding audio cassettes in stores. (Burnett dates the retail phenomenon from about 1965-1989.)

Eight-track players weren’t always reliable during the format’s heyday in the 1970s. Music lovers learned to insert matchbooks under the boxy plastic cartridges, helping draggy tapes to play correctly.

Today, playing eight tracks really isn’t the point, Burnett says. Instead, the tapes are valued as kitschy works of art.

If you’re planning a trip to Dallas, the Eight Track Museum can be found at 2630 E. Commerce St., in the city’s Deep Ellum arts district. Hours are Wednesdays and Sundays, 2-6 p.m.